Discussion Flame Test

However, despite the emitted light being distinct and personalized to each cation used in this experiment, flame tests are limited with regards to their inability to identify more than one metal cation present in a solution.13 If two or more cations were present in a solution, the results are highly probable of being classified as indefinite since the color of the flame cannot be clearly attributed to a single cation. The colors of flame tests are also susceptible to subjectivity, especially when it comes to some metals producing similar colors, resulting in certain compounds to become difficult to identify and differentiate from one another. How soaked the wooden stick was in the solution was also a factor that had to be taken into consideration …show more content…
As a result, possible sources of this experiment included the use of the plastic pipettes for transferring a certain number of milliliters of a solution, because the measurements were susceptible to variations when read at eye level. The use of the pipettes to also deliver drops of a solution was also susceptible to slight inconsistencies and random error. An additional source of error included the boiling of water, where, as the unknown sample containing the two cations was being prepped for their respective parts, evaporated, decreasing amount of boiling water to an amount that was not levelled with the 4 mL of deionized water in a test tube, by the time for the first hot bath to occur, and the second water bath after Part A finished in Part B. To fix the issue, more deionized water was added to the specified amount, but waiting had to occur for the bath to return to boiling temperature for Part A. With regards to Part C, possibilities of error, such as the wooden stick not completely soaking in the solution could have occurred, causing the potential color of the flame to not be as